Regime army seizes rebel-held Al Hader town in Aleppo province

(Zaman Al Wasl)- The Syrian regime army and allied Shiite forces on Thursday captured the strategic town of Al Hader in southern Aleppo province, in the latest advance in what is a strategic rebel-held area, Syrian state television said quoting a military source.

The rebels fled the town after Syrian army and allied forces took full control, it said.

Lebanese news feeds said on Wednesday that at least 8 Hezbollah fighters were killed in Kweires air base battle that broke a more than two-year-old siege by the Islamic State group.

At least 100 soldiers and fighters were killed in Kweires battles, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Thursday.

The recent gains of Bashar al-Assad regime was bolstered by Hezbollah fighters and Russia warplanes that have been carrying out airstrikes in the area.

The offensive has concentrated so far on clearing insurgent-held areas south of Aleppo rather than the city itself and is one of several assaults carried out by ground forces since Russian jets began airstrikes on Sept. 30 in support of Assad.

In eastern Syria, dozens of regime army were killed when an explosives-laden vehicle affiliated to ISIS rocked their checkpoints near Deir Ezzor military air base, the radical jihadi group said on social media. (With agencies)